A Battle Unseen

[BananaZebra]

BLACK HEART OF BADARA: CHAPTER ONE
SULTANS OF THE SANDS
Nashida Harroun, reporter for Sawt-al-e-Badara
Desert near Misul
26 July, 5489

The shifting sands in front of her glimmered in the setting sun as Nashida Harroun, reporter of Sawt-al-e-Badara, turned to face Nadheer Soleimani, member of the magnate family.

"My father once told me sand was dharab - gold." said Nadheer Soleimani, turning to the reporter behind him. "Not the sand itself, mind you. The gold lay beneath - the black blood which pumps through the veins of Badara, supplying every organ and limb with the sustenance it needs."

"Oil, you mean." said Nashida .

Nadheer smiled slyly.

"Yes. For centuries it powered Badara's economy, propping it up against the ravages of an uncaring and ever-changing world." he said. "Until it didn't."

"The de-petrolization. I assume this had a significant effect on your family?"

"Oh indeed. Though we survived, obviously. A good businessman knows how to be flexible, to adjust." Nadheer replied. "Ores, groceries, housing - you name it, we own it."

Nashida cleared her throat.

"And now, with Vamaj?"

Nadheer smiled widely, looking out over a vast field of oil wells before him.

"Now, our nation's heart pumps once more."

Nashida narrowed her eyes, writing quickly in her notebook.

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Nashida arrived at the warehouse shortly after midnight, pulling the car up to the side entrance.

The whirs of the machinery could be heard outside, even through the closed door of the warehouse. The door opened slowly, a head popping out and looking quickly in both directions, freezing once it spotted Nashida.

"Al-Fajr, friend." said Nashida.

A slight nod was the response from the stranger, holding the door open as they stood aside.

Nashida slipped into the warehouse, a massive room full of loading and unloading bays with looming industrial cranes as far as she could see.

"So this is the overland hub?" she asked.

The stranger, who Nashida could now tell was a middle-aged man, nodded.

"Most of the oil comes from way out in the desert, here in Samaria and in Baharia as well. It's got to get to al-Buqiyaa or Ras al-Harem to get shipped. But," the man said, stepping closer to Nashida. "There's something going on. Shipments are
down, but profits are up. Whispers the Soleimanis made some kind of deal with the Tzafrirs, to end the de-petrolisation programme."

"Any source for that claim? Evidence?"

The man shook his head wearily.

"If they are up to something, they're good at hiding it." he said.

Nashida ventured further into the factory.

"Is it empty?" she asked.

The stranger shook his head.

"They're all down at the unloading bay, is all. I should head back before they notice I'm missing." as he left, he handed her a key. "It's a master. If anyone asks, I've never met you and will recommend calling the authorities."

Nashida nodded.

"Thank you."

The man left quickly, and Nashida looked around the room that was visible to her: long walkways of linoleum and metal padding on which the workers' boots pinged and ponged in the distance in a soft chorus of annoyance. Stacks of pallets of oil drums, some empty, some full. On them labels; in Majatran, in Yeudi, and in the many languages of the Vamaj countries.

Nashida rounded a corner between two stacks of pallets, finding herself in front of a wooden door marked "MAIN OFFICE" in gold lettering.

Through the frosted glass, Nashida could tell the lights were off.

She slipped the master key into the lock, turning it open and popping the lock open with a soft click. Pushing the door open, she saw two rows of desks and, behind those, the much larger desk indicative of a boss's seat.

Nashida walked swiftly to the back, turning on her phone's flashlight and rustling through the documents left atop the desk. Picture after picture, Nashida meticulously compiled a collection of documents.

The master key worked in the locks of the desk, and Nashida grabbed more and more documents and folders, ransacking the desk and all of its contents.

The door swung open, and Nashida ducked beneath the desk, her heart pounding in her ears. A heavy set of footprints made their way to the desk, stopping in front of it. From under the desk, just out of the person's line of sight, Nashida held her breath tightly and listened for any more movement.

A sigh.

"Goddamn it, Eli. Clean up your shit for once," the voice said, sifting through papers. "Here," the voice continued, exasperated, and Nashida once more heard the heavy footprints, exiting the room.

She let out a sigh of relief, her chest burning as she took deep breathes to calm her heart.

Quickly, she got up and carefully made her way back to her car, speeding off back to her apartment.

[BananaZebra]

BLACK HEART OF BADARA: CHAPTER TWO
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Ismail Tzafrir, former Ambassador to Beitenyu and former Secretary-General of the MSCO, Bier Qassem
14 August, 5489

The air in the meeting was thick, like that of a humid summer's morning. Ismail rubbed his neck, wiping the sweat from it and turning to his wife.

"The Treaty will pass. It may take time, it may take compromise - "

"I don't have time! This is my legacy." she replied.

Ismail bristled.

"Our legacy. Darling." he said.

Ameera tensed.

Karl Thaller cleared his throat.

"The project is moving smoothly on our end, and we are confident we will reach our quota by the deadline."

"Finally, some good fucking news." Ameera hissed. "But the economy is still slouching, from that damned war. And Yishelem has the nerve to flop around on the Community, instead of jumping at the chance to fix their damage to Majatra!"

"Darling, anger does nothing here. Don't push away one of our only allies." Ismail said.

"You're quite the broken record, aren't you?" she replied. "I'm well aware that we must tread carefully here, beloved."

Ismail stood up straight.

"The Tzafrirs are known world-wide for our contributions to the defence industry. But other industries, those need different stewards. This is not a failing of Yishelem, but a failing on our part."

"And what do you suggest?" Ameera asked, her lips curling and her brow scrunched.

"Diversification. We need to expand our influence into other regions. Seleya, for starters, has a great deal of untapped potential for trade on our behalf. Trade with our neighbours in Majatra is an excellent start - now let's translate that to a wider network."

Ameera nodded, turning to Nadheer, Abdul, and Karim Soleimani.

"Don't make me regret giving you a monopoly, boys."

Nadheer smiled.

"You won't, Madame President. The Treaty of Altatepec does give us a unique opportunity," he said. "With Beiteynu and Lourenne adopting a more hands off approach to Seleya, at least on paper, this could give us a chance to expand our network beyond-"

Tzafrir turned his head.

"In Yishelem, yes. As you are so fond of saying." he said.

"It's true." Ameera said. "They've admitted themselves they are no longer capable of sustained defense, and their economy is nothing but an international web. Surely a few more friends couldn't hurt?"

Karl Thaller cleared his throat.

"Aldegar would be an excellent place to start. Building off Gaduridos and Baltusia, Aldegar would also give us a critical hub in the canal."

"Aldegar..." the President said. "If it is the price we must pay for glory, Aldegar it shall be."

[Luis1p]

IRSA Headquarters, Eroncourt, 8:56 AM

"Get those scans ready for me. We've got our weekly scans and our Soteria programming today, get moving."

The room smelled like trapped air, paper, and burnt espresso. 32 people filled the room, each at their own work station on large round tables, set up in front of three large screens and several smaller monitors.

"All right everybody, High Chancellor's orders: you are to complete our usual scans with the Voxis Program. Remember to check for abnormalities, or any major security threats. Those working on the Soteria program, you have new software to install. Make sure your station have the available files and upload them into the system. Go."

Everyone in the room began checking their screens, walking across the room, and talking to each other. The three screens up front began to show satellite images of several countries, and several continents.

"Uh sir, I have an anomaly on my screen. Sector 7. Voxis is yelling at me."

"Let me see."

He scans the screens intensely and compares scans from last week. He starts sweating and runs to his desk. He pick's up a red phone and dials a number.

"Get me the Royal Minister of Defense and the RIA. We have a security concern in Sector 7.......Where?.....Sector 7! That's Majatra..... I know but---it's Badara!"

[BananaZebra]

Office of the President, Bier Qassem

"What do they know?" the President asked, her back to the group.

"They know there are sites, in the desert." her husband, the ambassador, said.

"And?"

"They are aware of the rocket programme." replied the Prime Minister.

"And of the rest?" she asked.

"They have no idea."

"We must proceed carefully, then." the President said.

"The IRSA will continue to investigate, and Lourenne's Foreign Minister is already asking questions." said her husband.

"The world mustn't know until all of it is ready. Then, they will see."

The eighty-one year old woman stood, slowly, and walked to the window overlooking Bier Qassem.

"And in the meantime?" asked the Prime Minister.

"We wait." she said, pausing. "If they push, we come clean about the rockets."

The President smiled.

"And just the rockets."

[Svetlana2]

Preparation for a new order
General Headquarters of the IAF, underground bunker
May 1, 5500

"Enough is enough! They have taken it too fucking far!" Keikain Tetsuo, general of the ground forces of the IAF, said slamming his feast against the table, "We must take action to prevent those bastards from destroying Seko and strip it from its core valeus!"

"I agree, but we must carefully plan our next step of action if we want to make sure Seko is brought back to its former glory days under the careful watch of our divine emperor," Hayabusa Masaki, officer of the Imperial Sekowan Navy, responded to Keikain, "The country is already on the limits of an all out civil war and if we fail at toppling the current administration we will to actively spread anarchy in the country, and anarchy isn't the thing we need at the moment."

"I agree with the point mister Masaki made but time is running out, Senichi already dejure dissolved all of our respective branches and managed to only partially replace the ground forces by her militia that the SRA," Edamura Kiyohira, grand marshal of the Imperial Airforce, crossed his arm before adding, "The most important factor we must take into account is the Imperial family because we need them for us to gain legitimacy."

"Mister Kiyohira made a great argument indeed, you gentlemen need the Imperial family to back your regime in order to at least appease the THK supporters and their Public Affairs Committee," Soga Shinsui, personal grand advisor of the emperor, clapped his hand before getting off his seat, "You see, even tho the Imperial Protection Guard has lost the Imperial palace, I still have direct communication lines with the staff of the palace that have informed me that the SRA even tho they penetrated holy protected land didn't go far enough to actually capture the remaining IPG forces and the Imperial family themselves."

"So what are you suggesting mister Shinsui?" Kaiken asked looking directly at Shinsui

Shinsui then got up, walked calmly toward the map of Heimeikyo pinned on the wall before clearing his throat, "Our main target is the Imperial palace if we successfully capture it, we will automatically gain the support of the population and the compliance of the THK." He said pointing to the Palace, then he swiftly moved his fingers to the northeast and southwest entrances, "Since I am his excellency's personal advisor, I know that there is 2 hidden underground access points at these specific entrances, usually they are used in case of emergencies but I think we get a pass for now." He then pointed at the Imperial palace itself and more specifically its temple, "Monks and the remanents of the IPG are taking refuge in the temple, so we also need to quickly help them escape and deploy the remaining IPG units to our advantage by basically doing guerilla tactics on the SRA units that surround the Palace."

"We got the Imperial palace situation covered, what about the diet and the prime ministership?" Kiyohira asked curious about Shinsui seemingly extremely successful plan, "We need to stop the diet from passing the Sekowan Reformation Act in order to stop them from enacting the law and completely ending the monarchy. I even heard some say that Senichi is planning to either exile or execute the family and all the other Imperial houses."

"Concerning the diet, I have my own idea for how can we take it down." Masaki said getting up from his seat and walking where Shinsui was standing before pointing at the building of the diet on the map, "As you can see there is a huge boulevard in front of the diet's building but since the SRA doesn't even have any sort of heavy machinery or anything to really stop us from storming at them using the tank divisions under the control of Keikain. As for the primership, we don't really need to control it since it can be easily toppled using the diet by triggering a vote of no confidence and since we will be the only ones in there, it will automatically pass and be enacted."

"What about post junta rule? I don't believe the people are gonna like being permanently ruled by the junta forever. Do you have any plans for that mister Shinsui?" Keikain asked Shinsui directly with an eyebrow raised as if wanting to know what he has up his sleeves

"About that, once we reclaim power in Seko, I will personally act as the representative of the Imperial court in the junta but also we need to strategically use the THK to our advantage as they are the only party close to our ideals. As such, I will have to 'persuade' the emperor to give his blessings for the appointment of a THK-led civilian government with the Public Affairs committee of the association acting as its face and voice while us we will act as rhe brain and heart of this machine by founding the 'Shogun Loyalists' wing of the party where we will also act in the shadows to bring back the glory of Seko and its Imperial honor."

"Wonderful, this sounds like we are all set. Let's end thi-" Kiyohira said before stopping and noticing that he's gracefully writing two massive characters on a piece of paper.

"Gentlemen, I present to you the official name of the upcoming era that shall transform seko into a power to recon with and it shall be known as the Eisai Era" Shinsui said holding the piece of paper that had written in it the characters 永再 an abriviation of the word Eternal rebirth

"May the heavens be on our side, 帝国に栄光と、皇帝万歳！" They all said in unison before announcing the formal end of the meeting. Seko is entering a new era of change and rebirth, but will it really bring it back to its former glorious day? Only time will tell us the outcome.